Ultra-Coherent Semiconductor Laser Technology

Spontaneous emission is a quantum mechanical process that represents the main source of phase noise in state-of-the-art semiconductor lasers, limiting their coherence, and their suitability for high-speed communication and sensing applications. This proposal aims to develop ultra-high coherence semiconductor lasers on the Silicon/III-V platform with a quantum linewidth of<20 kHz (Phase I) and<5 kHz (Phase II), by tackling this root cause of phase noise in the laser. The laser incorporates two novel concepts to overcome the effects of spontaneous emission: (i) suppression of the quantum noise at its source, by controlling the rate of spontaneous emission; and (ii) mitigation of the effect of the spontaneous emission on the coherence of the laser. Low-cost, wafer-scale, high-throughput techniques will be developed and employed in the fabrication of the laser. The development of this laser on a CMOS compatible silicon platform enables the integration of the laser with other passive and active optical elements and electronics; and its small form factor and low power consumption make it a scalable solution for next-generation high-speed coherent communication and sensing applications.